Foot and beam assembly



Feb. 22, 1966 K. w. HozEsKl ETAL 3,236,484

FOOT AND BEAM ASSEMBLY Filed om. 2s, 1964 @flaw ATTORNEY WITNESS United States Patent O 3,236,484 FOOT AND BEAM ASSEMBLY Kenneth W. Hozeski, Grandville, and William R. Van L00, Grand Rapids, Mich., assignors to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Oct. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 405,921 6 Claims. (Cl. 248-188) This invention relates to a foot and beam assembly, and more particularly to a support structure for chairs and the like.

In the -mounting of chairs and other supports upon beams, a serious problem arises out of the tendency of the beam to work loose or yield under torsional forces caused when the occupants of the chairs lean forward and backward and in various directions, and the procedure for repair or tightening the parts is not only tedious but expensive. Further, in the installation of chairs in auditoriums and halls, it is often uncertain as to the locations finally chosen for ventilators, etc., and it is necessary to make adjustments of the positions of chairs, and such adjustment becomes an expensive operation. Further, in the use of bolts and nuts for the securing of chairs on beams, it is found that fastening parts present unsightly and dangerous projections which it is desired to avoid.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to avoid the above diiculties and to provide extremely rigid supports for beams while at the same time providing a ready means for adjustment of chairs along the beams and for tightening the foot assembly about said beams. A further object is to provide a foot and beam assembly wherein the parts can be tightened with a minimum of effort and expense. A further object is to provide means for concealing nuts and other assembly parts and avoiding the use of any projecting parts. A still further object is to provide a foot and beam assembly wherein the fastening parts are concealed and yet `are accessible for quick tightening when such is desired. Other specic objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is shown in an illustrative embodiment by the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a beam and foot assembly embodying our invention; FIG. 2, a broken top plan View of the foot and beam structure; FIG. 3, a side view in elevation; FIG. 4, an end view in elevation; and FIG. 5, a broken sectional View, the section being taken as indicated at line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

In the illustration given, A designates chairs which are mounted upon a longitudinal beam carried by foot means 11. The foot member 11 may be of any `suitable type or construction and may be a casting of iron or other suitable metal. In the specific illustration shown best in FIG. 3, the foot is provided with a base 12 which may be secured to a oor or other surface by bolts or other suitable means. In the illustration given, bolts are employed and are provided with covers 13. The foot 11 is preferably provided at its upper end with a head portion 14 having a transverse beam-receiving recess 15. Extending laterally of the beam-receiving recess 15 and near the lower portion thereof are nut recesses 16 which open and are accessible from the ends or end sides of the foot 11. The nut recesses are polygonal in cross section and receive polygonal nuts 17 with suicient snugness to prevent the nuts from turning.

Extending over the beam 10 and over the foot 11 is a clamping plate 18 which may be of any suitable construction. In the illustration given, the plate 18 is provided with a pair of spaced and dished openings 19 adapted to receive the screw bolt heads 20 which are "ice preferably in the shape of an inverted cone. The threaded bolt portion 21 below heads 20 extends downwardly through aligned openings 22 in the foot 11 and into the nut recesses 16. We prefer also to extend the openings 22 below the recesses 16, as indicated by the numeral 22a shown best in FIG. S.

In order to facilitate rotation of the screw heads 20, we provide the heads with a polygonal recess 23 which may be engaged by a snugly-fitting wrench. Thus an operator can tighten the bolts from either side of the beam 10 in a minimum of time.

Operation In the operation of the structure, the beam 10 mounted within spaced foot members 11 may be anchored in place by inserting nuts within recesses 16 and rotating the screw heads 20 to tighten the threaded bolt portions 21 within the nuts 17. This operation is accomplished by simply rotating by means of a Wrench the screw heads 20 since the nuts 17 are held against rotation by the walls around recesses 16. If it is desired to shift the beam 10 in the location of the chairs A, the plates 18 may be loosened and the beam shifted and again secured in position by tightening the plate 18. In the structure shown, the nuts not only are held in position and against rotating during the assembly or disassembly operations, but also are sheltered land housed within the slots 16, and there are no projections, the foot 11, clamp plate 18 and the `screw bolt mechanism forming a smooth, continuous structure.

While in the foregoing specification we have set forth a specic embodiment of the invention in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating the invention, it will be understood that such details of structure may be varied Widely by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a foot and beam assembly, a foot having a base adapted to 'be secured to a surface and having a head portion provided with a beam-receiving recess, a beam mounted in said recess, said foot having also nut recesses near the bottom of said beam-receiving recess and opening laterally of said foot, nuts of polygonal shape coniined within said recesses, a plate over said beam and said beam recess, said plate and foot having aligned vertical openings extending downwardly therethrough to said nut recesses, and headed fastening means extending through said openings and equipped with a threaded portion engaging said nuts.

2. In a foot and beam assembly, a foot having a base adapted to be secured to a surface and having an upper head portion provided with a transverse recess, a beam mounted in said recess, said foot having also near the lower portion of said recess laterally-extending nut recesses opening laterally of said foot, internally-threaded nuts confined within said recesses, a plate over said beam and said foot, said plate and foot having aligned vertical openings extending downwardly therethrough to said nut recesses, and bolt means extending through said openings and threadedly engaging said nuts.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which said bolt means is provided with an inverted conical head received within a dished opening in said plate, said head being provided with a wrench-receiving recess.

4. The structure of claim 2 in which said nuts are polygonal in shape and snugly engage the sides of said nut recesses to prevent rotation of said nuts therein.

5. In combination, a foot member having a transverse beam-receiving recess in the top portion thereof, a beam mounted in said recess, said foot member having also 3 4 laterally-extending nut recesses communicating with said References Cited by the Examiner first-mentioned recess and also with the exterior of said UNITED STATES PATENTS foot member, internally-threaded nuts Within said nut recesses, a plate over said beam and said foot, aligned 2'812800 11/1957 Eames 297-239 openings extending downwardly through said plate and 5 3036375 5/1962 Schlosser et al' 29-467 foot into said nut recesses and below said recesses, and FOREIGN PATENTS headed bolt means extending through said openings and 541 246 3/1956 Italy having threaded portions engaging said nuts.

6. The structure of claim 5 in which Isaid nut recesses CLAUDE A LE ROY, Primary Examiner. are bounded by walls which snugly receive said nuts and 10 hold them against rotation I. F. FOSS, Asszstam Examiner. 

1. IN A FOOT AND BEAM ASSEMBLY, A FOOT HAVING A BASE ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO A SURFACE AND HAVING A HEAD PORTION PROVIDED WITH A BEAM-RECEIVING RECESS, A BEAM MOUNTED IN SAID RECESS, SAID FOOT HAVING ALSO NUT RECESSES NEAR THE BOTTOM OF SAID BEAM-RECEIVING RECESS AND OPENING LATERALLY OF SAID FOOT, NUTS OF POLYGONAL SHAPE CONFINED WITHIN SAID RECESSES, A PLATE OVER SAID BEAM AND SAID BEAM RECESS, SAID PLATE AND FOOT HAVING ALIGNED VERTICAL OPENINGS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY THERETHROUGH TO SAID NUT RECESSES, AND HEADED FASTENING MEANS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID OPENINGS AND EQUIPPED WITH A THREADED PORTION ENGAGING SAID NUTS. 